How-To Geek

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We explain technology. Learn more with our articles, reviews, tips, and the best answers to your most pressing tech questions.
Updated: 49 min 19 sec ago

Clock Speed: The Overrated PC Spec You Can Ignore

Thu, 12/18/2025 - 21:00

There are a lot of metrics you should pay attention to when buying new PC components. Temperature, bandwidth, wattage, capacity, you name it. But there's one metric that just doesn't matter much these days, and that's clock speed. In the past, this number may have meant something, but not anymore.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Google Gemini is getting an AI video detector

Thu, 12/18/2025 - 19:55

Google is expanding its content transparency tools within the Gemini app. It is now possible to verify videos generated by the company's own artificial intelligence models. Keep in mind, this is exclusive to anything Gemini made, because the AI uses an ID that only it can see.

Categories: IT General, Technology

10 mistakes to avoid when setting up a Wi-Fi network

Thu, 12/18/2025 - 16:00

It only takes a few minutes to set up a safe, secure, and speedy Wi-Fi network. But it's also very easy to make mistakes along the way. Here are some of the most common mistakes people make when setting up their home Wi-Fi network, plus some ways to avoid these mistakes.

Categories: IT General, Technology

How to find and play Peacock's mobile games

Thu, 12/18/2025 - 16:00

Peacock has a diverse selection of movies and TV shows, but it also contains another form of media that you might not be aware of: games, playable from the mobile app. So, instead of clicking on the next episode of Law & Order: SVU or Love Island USA, you can play Peacock's games for a quick break.

Categories: IT General, Technology

How I used Android Studio and Antigravity to make my first app

Thu, 12/18/2025 - 15:30

Google recently released its own code editor, Antigravity. Based on Microsoft’s Visual Studio Code, Antigravity brings a lot to the table. I’ve been using it for the past few weeks, and here’s why I think it should be your IDE of choice.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Android's 2025 revolution: 5 game-changing updates

Thu, 12/18/2025 - 15:00

2025 is coming to a close, and it's shaping up to be Android's most pivotal year yet. While many of the updates might seem like surface-level polish, five fundamental shifts are elevating Android from its usual “powerful but rough” reputation to a more premium and polished platform.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Stop using these 5 apps that crash every time Cloudflare goes down

Thu, 12/18/2025 - 14:30

Cloudflare is used by a huge number of businesses to enhance the performance and security of their sites and services. It offers useful functions such as protecting sites from DDoS attacks and reducing latency. When Cloudflare stops working, however, many users can no longer access those sites and services. With two recent major global outages in recent months, you might want to consider ditching some apps that stop working when Cloudflare goes down.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Don't throw away your old webcam—here are 5 ways to repurpose it

Thu, 12/18/2025 - 14:15

If you own an old webcam you no longer use, don't throw it away. The old cammy still has life in it and can continue to be useful in one of the following roles.

Categories: IT General, Technology

These are all the vehicles destined for extinction in 2026

Thu, 12/18/2025 - 14:01

The automotive market is changing faster than ever, and 2026 is shaping up to be a breaking point for dozens of familiar vehicles. Shifting consumer demand, stricter emissions regulations, and the industry’s rapid pivot toward electrification are forcing automakers to make hard decisions. As a result, a wide range of cars, trucks, and SUVs are quietly heading toward extinction, even if they still have loyal followings today.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Don't trust Excel's COUNTA function to count non-blank cells—here's a better method

Thu, 12/18/2025 - 13:30

In most counting scenarios in Excel, COUNTBLANK reliably counts blank cells, and COUNTA reliably counts populated cells. However, with these functions comes a problematic paradox: an empty string from a formula is counted as "blank" by COUNTBLANK but as "populated" by COUNTA.

Categories: IT General, Technology

This USB gadget will pay for itself by the new year

Thu, 12/18/2025 - 13:00

I’ve been a bit late with the Christmas decorations this year, and that’s partly because I’ve been waiting for something to arrive in the mail. Rather than spending a fortune on AA batteries to power my favorite Christmas lights, I’m switching to a battery eliminator this year.

Categories: IT General, Technology

A beginner's introduction to Bash parameter expansions

Thu, 12/18/2025 - 12:30

Have you ever stared at a large directory of file names and dreaded the idea of renaming them all? Or perhaps your scripts are littered with conditional statements checking to see if an environment variable exists. Bash provides a concise syntax for changing strings that makes life easier. They're called parameter expansions, and I'll show you how to use them.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Samsung Galaxy XR: Everything I wanted it to be

Thu, 12/18/2025 - 12:00

Samsung Galaxy XR, a collaboration between Samsung and Google to take on the likes of the Apple Vision Pro, is the first Android XR headset. It serves as a showcase for an upcoming ecosystem of devices, and it happens to be easy to recommend to anyone interested in trying their hand at spatial computing, assuming they set aside a budget comparable to a high-end PC.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Stop waiting for the Galaxy S26: The OnePlus 15 is already here

Thu, 12/18/2025 - 06:00

OnePlus has always been at the forefront of zippy Android flagship phones—and the OnePlus 15 is no different. It's one of the first Android smartphones on the market with the powerful Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 SoC, which will likely appear in many other Android flagships, including Samsung devices, starting in 2026. If you want to get a head start on this powerful new chip, the OnePlus 15 is your phone.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Home Assistant's music manager just got a big update

Wed, 12/17/2025 - 22:56

Music Assistant’s just dropped its biggest update yet. It comes with a visual overhaul, a host of new features, and the introduction of a custom multimedia streaming protocol. If you use Home Assistant and rely on this awesome audio manager, you'll love version 2.7.

Categories: IT General, Technology

ASUS and Lenovo won't build Meta Quest-like VR headsets after all

Wed, 12/17/2025 - 22:46

Meta previously announced plans to develop VR and XR headsets with ASUS and Lenovo, using the same software as Meta's own Quest headsets. Those plans are now cancelled, but the headsets could be reworked as Android XR hardware.

Categories: IT General, Technology

You'll never guess how the original iPod stored files

Wed, 12/17/2025 - 21:30

I clearly remember getting my first MP3 player, which replaced my aging portable CD player in the mid 2000s. It was some no-name device with the build quality of a wet matchbox, but it was small and sounded just as good to my ear. The only problem was the storage space—it only held 1GB of data. That's still a decent number of MP3s, but a lack of storage was a problem that plagued virtually all MP3 players up to that point—until Apple solved the issue in a novel way: a teeny-tiny hard drive!

Categories: IT General, Technology

Google made a new RSS reader, but it's not Google Reader

Wed, 12/17/2025 - 21:06

Google Reader was a fantastic way to keep up with your favorite blogs and news sources with RSS feeds, but it was discontinued years ago. Now, Google has remembered that RSS feeds still exist, but this is unfortunately not a return for Reader.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Luxury cars that feel like supercars without the supercar price

Wed, 12/17/2025 - 20:30

Not long ago, drivers had to choose between everyday luxury and supercar-level thrills. These days, many cars offer both—a smooth, comfortable ride for daily driving and spirited fun on twisty weekend roads.

Categories: IT General, Technology

Your Google Wallet isn’t set up right—here’s what you’re missing

Wed, 12/17/2025 - 20:00

If you only ever use Google Wallet when tapping a payment terminal, there's a good chance you're missing out on a lot of what the app can do. With just a few small tweaks, it can replace almost everything in your physical wallet and make everyday tasks run a lot smoother.

Categories: IT General, Technology

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